Gujarati Community Newsletter

Transcription

1 Gujarati Community Newsletter A Non-Profit Tax-Exempt Organization MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. BOX 687, OWINGS MILLS, MD Federal ID Web Address: contact@gsbaltimore.org Manu Shah, Editor V10-02 February, 2010 Board of Trustees Year Chairman Raj Pujara President Payesh Jhaveri Vice-President Hament Patel Secretary Manu Shah Treasurer Kanu Patel Auditors Atul Patel Shailesh (Sly) Patel Members Dilip Daya Dipak Desai Gaurang Patel President s Message I hope everyone is in good spirits & safe after going through the record breaking snow season and most of us can t wait for the spring. Last week we had over 67 people join us for the Ski and Snow Tubing event. There were some cancellations due to the weather. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to DC Gujarati Samaj President, Nipa Parikh, and Kirit Udeshi who helped us with the two coach buses reservation at very reasonable price. Around 100 DC Samaj members were there as well for the field trip which provided a good opportunity for all members to enjoy the event together. The newly elected Executive Committee had its first meeting at the end of January. We were able to accomplish a lot during the first meeting including approval by the committee of the tentative 2010 budget, transition from old committee to new committee as well as some work on our newly revamped web site. We want to assure our members that no one on the current committee is either misusing the member s database or sharing the database with other associations. While we were provided the membership database, we are waiting to have access to current member s list from the past committee. We are, therefore, requesting all of you to send us your updated contact information including address so that we can improve our ability to communicate with you and notify the members of upcoming events electronically in addition to the mass mail. us the updated contact information at contact@gsbaltimore.org. On April, 10 we will be presenting a dinner and drama CHITKAAR. Chitkaar is the No. 1 record breaking best original Gujarati play and has been non-stop running for 25 years. Please register online at your earliest convenience. We are joining hands with Gujarati Samaj of Metropolitan Washington to celebrate 50 Years of Gujarat s statehood. This event will be held at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD on May 8, Details are provided elsewhere in this Newsletter. We invite our members to represent us on various committees. Our Management and Team Building Training is scheduled for March 6, We invite our young members who want to make a difference to contact us to participate in this opportunity. See elsewhere in the newsletter for details on volunteering. I take this opportunity to thank all volunteers and committee members for their support and help. Volunteers Rushi Bhatt Mitu Dalwadi Nilesh Desai Nishith Gandhi Raj Patel B. G. Thakkar Youth Committee Coordinator TBA Members TBA Payesh Jhaveri

2 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 2 of 12 History of Gujarati Samaj We have compiled the list of all Past Presidents of the Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore and with their help we hope to capture the Samaj s history: formation, early years, challenges faced, accomplishments, etc. which will be posted on our web site. Bhupendra Thakkar has agreed to lead our efforts and he will be in contact with you shortly. You may also call him at or drop him a note at bgthakkar@yahoo.com about what you can contribute to this effort. Website Please visit our revamped web site including various links provided. If you have not done so previously, please check out Gujarati Lexicon website and for Gujarati Kavita lovers please visit Rankaar website. We would like to acknowledge the voluntary services provided by Bhupesh Mehta to write the software for on line registration. Past Events Ski/Snow Tubing Trip to Ski Roundtop On February 13, 2010, we had over 67 people join us for the Ski and Snow Tubing event. Overall the ski/snow tubing event was a grand success, and the trip had all the ingredients for great fun. I loved the group, coordinators and the food. Timing of the event was just perfect - and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. was ideal to enjoy snow tubing. Next time, we should have coordinators for the activities within the bus - such as introductions/ice breakers, group games, sharing ideas for next events, etc. And that would make the bus trip even more enjoyable. Contributed by: Nimesh Chheda

3 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 3 of 12 Source: Unknown

4 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 4 of 12 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore Proudly Presents - April 10, 2010 Dinner & Drama Dinner (Pre-paid tickets only): 6:30 to 8:00 PM; Drama: 8:30 PM Place: New Town High School, Owings Mills, MD Tickets: $20, $30, & $50. Book your tickets online at Get $5 early discount on $30 and $50 tickets if purchased before March 31, Mail Payment to: Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore, P.O. Box 687, Owings Mills, MD To register, please call any committee member or visit our website. Sponsor this event for as low as $500. Each sponsor will get 4, first row tickets. Contact Atul or Dipak

5 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 5 of 12 Upcoming Event CHITKAAR A Record Breaking Gujarati Play: Non Stop Running from 25 Years Starring: Sujata Mehta April 10, Includes Dinner - See Details Elsewhere Gujarat Statehood 50 Years Celebration: May 08, See Details Elsewhere *************************************************************************************************** Other Community Announcements: Gujarati Samaj of Metropolitan Washington presents Hilarious Gujarati Play "Kona Didha ne Tamara Rahi Gaya" Starring Ashish Bhatt ("Parnela Ne Puchi Juvo" fame) Friday March 5, 8 PM High Point High School, 3601 Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, MD Tickets: $30, $40, $50, $60 $5 off per ticket before 2/27/09 - Paid orders only. Light dinner boxes will be provided between 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM Visit Samaj website or call Nipa for complete details. Shri Mangal Mandir presents King of laughter Shri Mahesh Shashtri and Nirav Mehta Friday March 12, 8 PM Tickets: $15 and $25 (VIP) At Shri Mangal Mandir Auditorium. For more details call Shri Chandrakant Chove at Baltimore-Washington DC Santram Bhakta Samaj presents Santram Satsang Program Saturday April 17, 4:30 PM At Shri Mangal Mandir New Hampshire Avenue Silver Spring, MD Mahaprasad will be served after the Satsang.

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8 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 8 of 12 Benefits of Volunteering for Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore At Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore (GSB), volunteering is offered by choice it is not mandated. Each of us who joined Gujarati Samaj s Managing Committee (that is the Executive Committee (EC)) became proudly involved so that we can provide a service to our Samaj and its members. At GSB, we have a long tradition of volunteering and as volunteers we aim to foster community integration and unity by encouraging members, friends, colleagues, and neighbors to work together through sharing of common goals. The EC team works as a cohesive team where sharing of ideas are encouraged and respected, the work load is balanced based on expertise, and most importantly, WE HAVE FUN ALONG THE WAY. Each of us recognizes the commitment we have made to serve our Samaj and the fundamental reason we volunteer at GSB is TO GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY. So, if YOU are asking Why Should I join Gujarati Samaj s Volunteer Committees? or What are the benefits of volunteering?, here are a few things to think about: Want to make new friends? Want to meet Gujarati professionals? Want to meet business owners? Samaj is the right place for YOU! Want to be a part of a team that manages events for more than 550 (life members) Gujarati families in Baltimore? How about your passion to manage or assist managing events? We have an energetic team with tremendous passion - we need YOU! Samaj hosts Cultural Events, Fun Events, Educational Events your interest in any of these areas is valuable to us. We have room for YOU! Do you have a passion to add Culture, Fun & Value to our Newsletter Publication - we need YOU! Do you have a passion to SHINE our Samaj on the Web and Market our Events - we need YOU! Do you want to learn managing tasks that others execute in Samaj activities - come join us & learn! Do you love to manage Financial and Treasury tasks we have room for YOU! How about playing a role of Samaj Voice! We need your communication skills, your speaking talents, or any skills that YOU can bring to make things enjoyable and valuable from Samaj s perspective. We need YOUR enthusiasm and passion! Do you have skills in using Multimedia, Audio, Video, or a Computer? Samaj needs YOU! We need your passion, your enthusiasm, your leadership skills, and your positive attitude to raise Samaj to a new level. Our Samaj membership is increasing daily and Samaj is becoming stronger and stronger. Do YOU want to be part of this ongoing revolution? Do you want to play a role in maintaining our Culture & Heritage in our community we need YOU to help us achieve that! We strongly support diversity! We need YOU whether YOU are male or female, irrespective of age limits we need that passion, that love for Gujaratis and we can do it via Samaj! Yes, Samaj will need YOUR time, efforts & positive attitude and in return YOU will get a sense of achievement, a sense of fulfillment, a sense of making a big difference in our community. So come join us! YOU will be glad you did! Join us as a volunteer and become part of Samaj Seva we will do it for fun, for culture, for heritage, for people. If you would like to learn more about the volunteering experiences or would like to volunteer at GSB, please contact any of the current EC members or send an to contact@gsbaltimore.org.

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10 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 10 of 12 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore & Gujarati Samaj of Metropolitan Washington Invites you to Gujarat Golden Jubilee Celebrations on May 08, 2010 With support of Gujarati Mitra Mandal, Mangal Mandir, Jain Society, Gujarati Literary Academy Eleanor Roosevelt High School 7601 Hanover Parkway, Greenbelt, MD :00 PM Midnight Nipa Parikh, President, Gujarati Samaj Metropolitan Washington Payesh Jhaveri, President, Gujarati Samaj Baltimore Gujarat Statehood - 50 Years Celebration We are joining hands with Gujarati Samaj of Metropolitan Washington to celebrate 50 Years of Gujarat s statehood. This event will be held at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD on May 8, We will all need to work together to make this a successful event. Various committees have been established to plan for this event: Activities, Youth, Fund Raising, Souvenir, Publicity, Media, Hospitality, Reception, Vendors, Volunteers, Security, Cultural, Talent & Fashion Show, Medical, Photography, Rass/Garba & Other Competition. We would like to invite our members to represent us on various committees. Please review the list of various committees and let us know what area you or someone that you know (member of Baltimore Samaj) would like to volunteer to represent us. Please contact Gaurang Patel or us at contact@gsbaltimore.org.

11 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 11 of 12 Advertisements We encourage businesses and professionals to place their advertisement in our community newsletter. We will, at a minimum, publish 4 newsletters annually and will also place your advertisements on the website. For further details, please contact Dipak Desai at or send us an at contact@gsbaltimore.org to indicate your interest. Camera ready copy of your advertisement would be preferable. Event Sponsorship Without the support of our members, volunteers, and the sponsors we would not have seen the success that we have enjoyed during the past few years. Sponsors have enabled us to plan and organize out of town trips such as trips to Vraj or Golden Temple. We would like to continue to organize such events to benefit our members and, in particular, seniors who have been able to participate in these events. Please contact any one of the Board members for event sponsorship or send us an at contact@gsbaltimore.org. Management Training We are planning Management & Teamwork Training for members of the Board of Trustees on March 06, 2010 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Training will be held at Comfort Inn, York Road, Hunt Valley, MD There will be nominal registration fee of $20 per person to cover the cost of incidentals and lunch. We invite any young members interested in serving Gujarati Samaj in the future. Please contact us or send us an at contact@gsbaltimore.org to indicate your interest so that we can possibly include you in the training seminar. We may also have executive committee members of other local organizations attending the training. Updating Membership Records We have made every effort to rebuild our membership database as accurately as we can. However, there are still a few members whose records we are unable to update. We therefore request every member to visit our revamped website and provide us with their updated membership profile. If you know of any member who is not receiving our Newsletter then please ask them to contact us. We request all members to provide us with change of addresses, if any, in a timely manner. Call for Articles We invite members to contribute articles or community news of interest to the members either in Gujarati or in English. your contributions to contact@gsbaltimore.org.

12 Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore No _February 2010 Page 12 of PAST & UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR (TENTATIVE) Ski/Snow Tubing Trip to Ski Roundtop... February 13, 2010 Bowling... March or April Management & Team Building Training... March 06, 2010 Dinner & Drama Chitkaar... April 10, Years Celebration of Gujarat Statehood... May 08, 2010 Temple Trip... TBD Graduation (High School and College)... June or July Picnic... August Navratri... October Diwali... October or early November General Body Meeting... TBD Printed by SK Printing, Inc. Serving from Mt. Airy & Sykesville Call Sudha